This issue of Hot Cool is about "HOW TO GET STARTED! But before we focus on that, we again have to touch upon the European energy crisis – more specifically, the European gas crisis. We invite you to read the open letter sent to IEA from our chairman, Jørgen Nielsen. You can also look forward to some fantastic articles that give great input to “How to get started.” First, a team from Ramboll introduces the different roles different actors have to take to make these urban infrastructure projects successful. Maëlle pinpoints two essential conditions that need to be in place to make a DH fly. The choice of components is vital – of course, it is! Read how your Owners Engineer should play a vital role in ensuring the highest quality level of your system. And finally, Denmark ranks at the top of the World Energy Councils' energy security, energy equity, and sustainability rating. Of course, district heating is key – read how and why in this issue of Hot Cool.
NO. 3 / 2022
INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE ON DISTRICT HEATING AND COOLING
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DH IS ALSO A PART OF THE SOLUTION TO THE EUROPEAN GAS CRISIS
Interna'onal Energy Agency A0. Dr. Fa'h Barol
Copenhagen, April 8 th , 2022
Dear Dr Fa'h Birol, Dear IEA, .
District heating can play an important, future-proof, and substan- tial role in the current gas crisis. This fact was forgotten by the International Energy Agency when they released their 10-point plan
Thank you for the 10-point plan to reduce the reliance on Russian Natural gas. We fully support the 10 points men'oned here and would also like to highlight the work done by IEA on e.g. the energy efficiency agenda. We find the 10-point plan highly relevant and applaud the speed with which you managed to give a very clear signal to the world on this important ma0er. As a district hea'ng organisa'on with the purpose to support sustainable city development world-wide, i.e., help countries and ci'es to develop district hea'ng as part of their sustainable future, we regret that district hea'ng does not have a more prominent posi'on in the 10-point plan. Allow us to introduce Danish Board of District Hea'ng (DBDH) shortly. We are a Danish membership organisa'on dedicated to support the development of district hea'ng world-wide. Our members are a combina'on of the largest Danish district hea'ng companies, consul'ng engineers and manufacturing companies. We find that a conversion from gas hea'ng to district hea'ng can play an important part in the current crisis - also within the framework given in the 10-point plan. District hea'ng is in many cases capable of making significant contribu'ons both in the short term and off course also in a medium- and long-term perspec've. With the substan'al support mechanism needed to reduce the reliance on Russian natural gas, we an'cipate that district hea'ng can bring results at the same scale and importance as other of the means you bring forward, maybe even at a lower long-term cost. District hea'ng will also keep Europe on route towards the green agenda or at least provide a highway back to the green agenda aSer the crisis – where heat infrastructure interacts with other energy infrastructures to build an efficient and integrated green transi'on for society. District hea'ng will be an important, low-cost, and green tool in the toolbox towards less Russian natural gas, especially under the condi'ons set in your plan (very short term, substan'al economic support, and risk of increased prices). It is among other things possible within short 'me to connect building to exis'ng networks and to change from one heat source to another - in many situa'ons from day to day or from hea'ng season to hea'ng season. Extending exis'ng networks to next-door areas can also be done quickly, and exis'ng plan to develop both new networks and sustainable heat sources can be accelerated. The impact of these ac'ons is substan'al, and they should be calculated and included in the plan. A strong argument in favour of district hea'ng is, that it is a tool that will not jeopardize the green transi'on in the future. District hea'ng will play an important role in the future smart energy infrastructure and therefore is a no-regret solu'on. We encourage you to include district hea'ng much more in your 10-point plan. Maybe to the extent that you add a 11 th recommenda'on. Best regards
on reducing the EU’s reliance on Russian gas. By Jørgen Nielsen, Chairman of the Board, DBDH, Managing Director, TVIS
Therefore, I sent a letter to IEA Executive Director, Dr. Fatih Barol, to make him aware of the role district heating can play both in the very short term and the medium and long term. I also mentioned how district heating is a no-regret solution that will, at the same time, accelerate our route towards a green future.
The 10-point plan includes measures that will have an effect within a year. But it also describes the substantial cost in the form of subsidies and increased costs for end-users. Within that framework, district heating can definitely play along.
We all need to react now. I want to encourage all readers to forward similar letters to Dr. Fatih Barol with your support of our mes- sage. We from DBDH will now start interacting with all DH-associations and our local MEPs, and not least make our own govern- ment aware of the role we can play. We encourage you to do the same – reach out to your government and let them understand that DH is important – even more so today. The more we sing from the same hymn sheet, the louder we will be heard.
Let me share a few examples of what district heating can do – even though you are already aware of this:
District heating companies with multiple heat sources can right now (as from the next hour) make production plans that exclude or limit gas use and divert to oth- er readily available sources. That could be heat pumps, surplus energy, biomass, solar, electricity, and even oil. Before the next heating season, we can connect many gas-heated buildings neighboring our networks. Build the connection pipe and install a heating unit – job done.
We can push forward plans to expand networks and ac- celerate the construction already going on. I talked to two German city governments the other day – they had sent back plans to heat new housing developments with gas and asked for a “proper” solution. Each DH company knows precisely which gas users will add most to our goal of avoiding gas. They also know their heat capacity and can combine the two. Let’s at least start with them!
There are 100’s of reasons why things can’t be done, but we are in a proper crisis, and we should do our utmost – “just do it!”.
We also encourage all to remember that investments in district heating are investments we should have done ages ago, so an accelerated effort is long overdue. These investments are future-proof when looking at our ambitions to become carbon neutral soon. Again, a no-regret option.
We are in a gas crisis on the back of the real problem in Ukraine. Strong measures should and must be taken. Therefore, we wel- come the 10-point plan and just say that our industry can also play a significant role.
Jørgen Nielsen Chairman of the board, DBDH Managing director, TVIS
Our industry, you, all of us, can deliver significant results, especially within the time frame and economic conditions set out by the International Energy Agency. We can start delivering today!
I hope you all will act now and take part in making district heating an integrated and essential solution to the current gas crisis and, at the same time, make a huge climate impact.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… DBDH · Stæhr Johansens Vej 38 · DK-2000 Frederiksberg · Tlf.: +45 8893 9150 · info@dbdh.dk · CVR: 85175912
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HELLO, HOW CAN WE SUPPORT YOUR CITY? DBDH is the Go-To-Platform for district energy. We cooperate with all DH stake holders and support cities in their quest for a sustainable city transformation.
WANT BETTER DISTRICT HEATING NETWORKS? LET WOMEN FLOOD IN Contents
FOCUS: HOW TO GET STARTED?
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COLUMN DH IS ALSO A PART OF THE SOLUTION TO THE EUROPEAN GAS CRISIS By Jørgen Nielsen THE OWNER’S ENGINEER ROLE IN SECURING THE RIGHT COMPONENTS By Joao Ricardo Elias
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DISTRICT HEATING AND COOLING IS A NATURAL PART OF THE URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE IN MODERN CITIES. By Anders Dyrelund, Frederik Palshøj Bigum and Emil Reinhold Kristensen
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Feedback from our 2019 Conference
HOW TO GET STARTED? Scientist Corner By Maëlle Caussarieu
COMBINED HEAT & POWER – Heat infrastructure planning in Denmark By Katinka Johansen
Use our strengths to help your city. We are the link to: Achieving climate goals through fossil-free district energy Strategic energy planning Knowledge on district heating and cooling A wide network of experts Visiting green solutions in Denmark
Adriana: What made me laugh was to see how uncomfortable
the room was at the beginning of the session with the drag queens. We were all like 'oh, this is so weird...' And I was sitting next to people that I'm negoti- ating with or consultants that I work with and we were all like 'aaah....this is not what we do...". And as time went by, things just changed. People embraced it and were designing their dolls…
Lina: ...there was dancing…
The data suggests diversity correlates with better financial performance. Likelihood of financial performance above national industri median, by diversity quartile, % Ethic diversity Top quartile Bottom quartile 58
Adriana: …dancing - that made me laugh a lot! We were just so awkward and out of our com- fort space as soon as we had to do something with glitter and glue and paper!
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+35%
We do not know everything about district heating, but we know who does :) Contact one of our team members. Our advice is free of charge.
Gender diversity Top quartile Bottom quartile
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+15%
Gender and ethic diversity combined Top quartile All other quartiles
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+25%
Source: McKinsey Diversity Database
Lars Hummelmose lh@dbdh.dk Contact for China and other Asian countries, North America, and the Middle East
Pia Zimmermann pz@dbdh.dk Contact for Eastern Europe, the Baltic States and CIS countries
Morten Jordt Duedahl md@dbdh.dk Contact for Western Europe
Hanne Kortegaard Støchkel hks @dbdh.dk Sector integration and new heat sources
1 Photo of men at board meeting from social media: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/davidclancefield_ceos-diversity- inclusion-activity-6901111290907947008-ZbS-?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web
DBDH Stæhr Johansens Vej 38 DK-2000 Frederiksberg Phone +45 8893 9150
Editor-in-Chief: Lars Gullev, VEKS
Total circulation: 5.000 copies in 74 countries 10 times per year
Grafisk layout Kåre Roager, kaare@68design.dk
2 Quote and the graphic both from https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/why-diversity-matters
Coordinating Editor: Linda Bertelsen, DBDH lb@dbdh.dk
info@dbdh.dk www.dbdh.dk
ISSN 0904 9681
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DISTRICT HEATING AND COOLING IS A NATURAL PART OF THE URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE IN MODERN CITIES. But who should start and how? Policymaker or end-user?
By Anders Dyrelund, Frederik Palshøj Bigum and Emil Reinhold Kristensen, Ramboll
More than a century ago, all policymakers realized that a modern city needs an in- frastructure for the environment, in fact, two, one for water and one for wastewater. Sanitary installations had priority.
Establish cooperation between ministries in accordance with the EU directive for strategic environmental assess- ment in order to ensure that all ministries remove barriers against cost-effective urban energy infrastructure. Ensure that power plants, waste incineration plants, data centers, electrolysers, and other major sources of waste heat both can and shall be located near cities in order to facili- tate the use of these resources to the full interest of society. Use taxation to encourage all end-users to act in a way, which is of interest to the society, e.g., tax on fossil fuels and tax on ton waste, and let the ministry of energy design the taxes on fuels, waste and electricity at fluctuating prices in order to ensure that it is administrated in accordance with the purpose. Give the local municipal authorities the responsibility for planning the urban energy infrastructure, as they are the planning authority for other urban infrastructure and set down rules to facilitate that this planning is in accordance with the interest of the society at the municipal level, cross municipal borders and at a national level and not least, that the plans can be enforced.
Allow the municipalities to enforce an obligation to connect rule in areas where district heating and cooling is proven to be the most socioeconomic solution – in other words, make sure the citizens get the best solution. This helps secure feasible projects and lower the cost for society. It also gives citizens a clear direction for the most cost-efficient and sus- tainable solution. Use the building code as a tool to ensure that new buildings meet sufficient standards of thermal comfort and HVAC sys- tems for low-temperature heating and high-temperature cooling in a cost-effective way and to ensure that building owners are encouraged to connect to district heating and/ or cooling if this infrastructure is available being the most cost-effective solution. Let the energy planners in the Minis- try of Energy be responsible for the building regulation re- garding energy supply. Develop indicators that reflect the cost of economic, envi- ronmental, and social sustainability and resilient energy. The simple statistics on energy and average climate gas emission do not reflect these important objectives and may confuse building owners.
But how to get started? “Is it the hen or the egg?” Is it at the national or the local level? We think both.
Today, modern societies set high standards, not only for af- fordable energy but also for thermal comfort, clean air, and independency of imported fuels, and they care to prevent cli- mate change.
In Denmark, district heating started in most local communities 50 to 100 years ago, organized by municipal-owned utilities in cities and by the consumer co-operatives in the smaller com- munities. Most of the remaining communities followed shortly after 1979, encouraged by the strong national energy policy and the Heat Supply Act. The Parliament Our recommendations to policymakers at the national lev- el are to create a legal framework with the aim of imple- menting the national energy policy, which should focus on cost-effective, resilient, and environmentally friendly energy services:
Do we have solutions that solve all-in-one in a cost-effective way?
Yes, we have had it for decades, in particular in Denmark. Until recently, this must have been a secret for many policymakers, as we have states that waste huge amounts of energy and are dependent on imported energy. All readers of this magazine know that the secret solution is to establish underground networks for district heating and cool- ing as part of the urban infrastructure. We have the technolo- gy and the methodologies for planning and design. It is just a matter of information and management at a national and local level.
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DISTRICT HEATING AND COOLING IS A NATURAL PART OF THE URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE IN MODERN CITIES. But who should start and how? Policymaker or end-user?
City councils Our recommendations to city councils are to integrate district heating and cooling infrastructure in the urban planning as this network infrastructure is a strong natural monopoly, which should be owned and planned in a way that is to the benefit of all building owners in the city: Let the city council form an overall energy policy, e.g., with the objective to ensure cost-effective, secure, low carbon, and environmentally friendly thermal services to all citi- zens that are in accordance with the national energy pol- icy. Let the standing committee for energy and environment be responsible to the council for implementing this policy and ensure commitment from all other sectors in the city, e.g., transport infrastructure and spatial planning. Let the public utility, managed by this committee, establish a branch for heating and cooling infrastructure in the city, parallel to similar services for water and wastewater, roads and traffic, etc., in order to develop this service to the ben- efit of the energy consumers and with the aim to minimize costs of these services for all consumers.
Ensure that all public buildings and social housing build- ings which are publicly funded are connected to the district heating and cooling grids. Campus owners Our recommendations to public and private industrial campus owners are:
If there is not yet a heat infrastructure in the city, the new development could be an opportunity to develop it in the rest of the urban area as well. If there is no obligation for new buildings to connect, the developer has the opportunity to ensure that all build- ings will be connected and thereby create more value for money.
building level solutions, and, therefore, the most sustainable choice taking into account economic, environmental and social sustainability. If there is not yet a supplier of district heating and cooling, the consumer could engage with other consumers and cre- ate a local energy community in which consumers in the local community look for energy solutions of common in- terest. It could be organized in associations or co-operatives and maybe coordinated with or in cooperation with the city council.
Take an active part as a stakeholder in the city energy plan- ning process.
Building owner Our recommendations to building owners are:
Regularly update business plans for the campus energy system with the aim to provide sufficient resilient, environ- mentally friendly energy services like electricity, process en- ergy, and thermal comfort in the most cost-effective way, including the cost of building envelope, HVAC systems, net- works, and storage facilities, and production. Take into account and benefit from the interaction with the energy infrastructure in the city around the campus in the stakeholder analysis and for implementing projects of com- mon interest. Share experience and be a role model for individual build- ing owners in other city districts by demonstrating how to develop least-cost solutions for all buildings in a district.
Join the planned urban infrastructure for energy, which is the most cost-effective for all consumers compared to
For further reading The EU/JRC report on integrating renewable and waste heat and cold sources, https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/re- pository/handle/JRC123771 from 2021, includes 8 valuable cases, among them 2 from Denmark, that can inspire others. The public utility Taarnby Forsyning established a smart cost-effective district cooling system despite several institutional and legal barriers. The local community in the small town of Jægerspris established a district heating system to utilize surplus heat from CHP and solar heating and is now in the transition to using fluctuating wind energy. The EU/JRC report on efficient district heating and cooling https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/ JRC104437 from 2016 also includes 8 cases, among them 2 from Denmark. The first case shows how 20 local communities in Greater Copenhagen established an integrated district heating system to harvest the surplus heat from CHP and waste to the benefit of all consumers. The second case shows how a consumer-owned district heating company in the small town of Gram has established large-scale solar water heating and seasonal heat storage combined with CHP, heat pumps, and electric boilers. The operation responds to electricity prices as if it was an electric battery, “a virtual battery.” The case on sustainable urban development in The Carlsberg City https://stateofgreen.com/en/partners/ramboll/solu- tions/carlsberg-sustainable-urban-development/ , describes how the developer has implemented the most sustainable solution for heating and cooling and ensured its implementation, making it obligatory for all buildings to connect to dis- trict heating and district cooling (for those with active cooling demand). This is to ensure the most sustainable solution and reduce the negative environmental impact of energy-producing appliances in the buildings.
Transparently operate the utility and let consumers be rep- resented on the board.
Developers Our recommendations to developers are:
Regular update of business plan with a focus on the aim of the company, on the present situation, and on opportuni- ties for meeting the objectives even better. Invite major owners of infrastructure for energy and envi- ronment as well as all industries which can use or produce energy into an open planning process with all relevant data available, from the first screening to final feasibility studies and agreements to be approved by the board of utilities and the city council.
Developers can, like campus owners, identify the most cost-effective and sustainable solution for the urban devel- opment area as a whole, considering the opportunities for taking part in the urban infrastructure. Plan for solutions that are the most cost-effective for energy consumers in the long term, taking into the long lifetime of building and energy infrastructure
Use stakeholder analysis to identify the best solution for all and alternatives for sharing the responsibility and benefit/risk.
In most cases, district heating and/or district cooling will be the most cost-effective solution to meeting the objectives.
For further information please contact: Anders Dyrelund, ad@ramboll.com
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HOW TO GET STARTED?
Since the invasion of Ukraine by Putin’s Government, European countries find them- selves stuck in a painful situation. While eager to stop importing natural gas from Russia, they are at the same time extensively reliant on Russian natural gas for their energy supply and economy. So, then what? How should European cities get started on the green transition and reduce their natural gas dependency?
By Maëlle Caussarieu, Energy Planner, PhD, Municipality of Copenhagen
Copenhagen caught my attention as it first appeared to me as a site without subsequent resources to engage in energy system change. The municipality was said to have social and ethnic divides, a high rate of residents relying on social assistance, and a deteriorated hous- ing fabric. Nevertheless, the city was embark- ing on transitioning its “traditional” DH grid into the so-called “4th Generation DH grid”. Such a transition is acknowledged in the sci- entific literature as requiring significant trans- formations such as low return temperature, low-temperature energy sources, low con- sumption, grid boosters, etc. How would and was a city with little means to engage in such an extensive transition? The answer lies in the ‘situatedness’ of the case; for the municipality, carrying out this agenda was not just a matter of energy transition but also a pragmatic way of revitalizing the city and deal- ing with the deteriorating housing fabric. As a matter of fact, the municipality of Albertslund was built over a little ten years – from 1963 to 1973; due to the pressing need for housing, the urban planners of the time decided to use prefabricated houses in a grid-like model to expand the city rapidly and with a standard- ized and affordable housing. But these prefab- ricated houses did not handle the wet Danish weather very well, and the problem of humid- ity and mold arose gradually. To tackle these challenges, the municipality and the DH practitioners decided that they would solve the devitalizing urban fabric. At the same time, embark the city on the green
Such a critical situation is not unprecedented; crises have prompted changes in energy supply systems in the past. For example, the Fukushima nuclear disaster provoked the closing of nuclear plants in Germany, and the oil crisis of 1973 prompt- ed the further development of district heating (DH) in Den- mark. Shocks and crises can be the spark that drives energy transitions. They can provoke new understandings and uses of already known technology, and district heating may be one of them. DH has significant potential to mitigate climate change, lower European reliance on Russian natural gas, supply low- cost heating, and improve air quality. In this article, I will present some findings from the DH devel- opment in Denmark and argue why these historical and con- temporary examples have relevance today. I will here present two arguments also developed in my Ph.D. thesis. First, from the Danish Government’s response to the oil crisis, I show how creating a common regulatory regime was central to facilitat- ing the large-scale deployment of DH. Second, based on the case of Albertslund municipality, I show that local parameters are essential in energy transition processes. Establishing and developing district heating in Denmark District heating: a response to a crisis Before the 1970s in Denmark, there were no dedicated ener- gy planning procedures or regulative authorities. Municipali- ty-owned DH companies were standard in the larger cities – and often, the DH supply was based on surplus heat from waste incineration plants. But when the 1973 oil crisis hit Denmark, the oil price increased by nearly 400%, seriously striking the country’s economy. With this oil embargo, Denmark realized that concerted action was needed to lower the dependency on imported oil, and an all- new Danish Energy Policy era started. Fuel diversification and energy savings became the main priorities at the national and
municipal levels, and DH became the backbone of the Govern- ment’s strategy. Politicians and regulators realized the poten- tial to exploit waste heat resources from electricity generation and waste incineration plants to increase energy efficiency. The Government thus recategorized DH from an available sur- plus heat source to necessary energy infrastructure. Establishing such large-scale infrastructures was nonetheless not done overnight. In the following section, I expose some of the elements that made this deployment feasible in Denmark and which may provide aspects of the answer as to “how to get started.” The importance of national regulation for local developments When the Danish Government realized the need to develop DH to reduce oil dependency, they established the Danish En- ergy Agency (DEA). This new regulative authority was tasked to create procedures, plans, and regulations to support and guide energy developments. The Danish Energy Agency soon signed the Heat Supply Act (1979), the first law regarding DH in Denmark. The Act holds the municipalities responsible for developing local DH infra- structures and most created municipally owned or coopera- tive companies to be in charge of these developments. This means that the new task of developing DH was in the hands of the local public practitioners. Yet, the DEA’s common planning practices guided this local and public task. Two regulations from the Heat Supply Act must be highlighted: the hvile-i-sig- selv principle (literally “rest upon itself”) and the socio-econom- ic calculations. The “ hvile-i-sig-selv ” principle stipulates that no profits can be made from the production and trade of heat. It stipulates which costs can be covered in the heating price and therefore secure the customers against possible abuses. The end-users were and are thereby ensured to obtain the lower heat prices
possible and to pay a fair amount for their heat supply. This principle, together with the local ownership of the infrastruc- ture, has grounded trust between the customers and their heat suppliers over time. The socio-economic calculations provided a framework for the public companies to deal with the uncertainties related to en- ergy planning. They were and still are nationally defining the references and baseline scenarios upon which practitioners are to base energy investment decisions. They assist the prac- titioners in assessing how to reach energy objectives in the most appropriate way for society while considering the terri- torial parameters. In other words, the DEA provided national guidelines while leaving enough room for the local practition- ers to consider their own locality. These national calculations thus enabled the local practitioners to continually find the most cost-efficient and environmentally friendly ways of heat supply. This framework has, over time, established a sense of commitment from the public practitioners to the infrastruc- tures at stake. Many say that these regulations are two key elements that have enabled a fast and solid further development of DH in Denmark, despite the lack of prior knowledge and plenty of uncertainties related to energy planning. These elements have, over time, grounded a sense of commitment to the task of doing something important for the good of society. It has en- abled the practitioners to implement new systems and tech- nologies despite many uncertainties and provided them with enough stability to navigate their world. District heating is bounded to the local parameters. DH systems are locally bounded systems, and it is, therefore, primordial to consider the territorial parameters. This section underlines this point through the example of one of my Ph.D. case studies, namely the energy transition of Albertslund mu- nicipality. This city of nearly 30,000 inhabitants 15 km from
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THE OWNER’S ENGINEER ROLE IN SECURING THE RIGHT COMPONENTS District heating and cooling (DHC) systems are generally long-term investments and are relatively cost-intensive to implement. Systems will be in operation for many years, and some system elements will be buried in the ground, hence not easily accessible. Therefore, significant consideration must be given to the choices made when procuring components for a DHC-system.
tems and Smartphone applications. They even made available information about energy renovation funds and good practic- es by creating a website (and soon a catalogue) where citizens could get oriented about what to do and why it was important to reduce the temperature in the grid. The municipality is so far keeping on target, with a new milestone of having a 60ºC supply temperature by 2026. This case emphasizes the importance of the local conditions when embarking on an energy system transition. In Albert- slund, from the very local parameters have emerged ways of transforming the energy system, thereby enhancing the mu- nicipality and inhabitants’ lives.
transition. They decided in 2015 that by 2025, the heat supply temperature would be decreased from 80-90oC to 60-70oC.
To achieve this target, the practitioners installed Smart Meters, used drones to identify heat losses in the grid, and developed new services ensuring the efficient operation of their cus- tomers' heat units. Communication with the inhabitants was also a significant part of the strategy; the utility spent a great deal of workforce engaging in dialogue with their inhabitants, measuring dwellings' radiators sizes and insulation layers, all to develop interactive maps to communicate about low-tem- perature grids. They also incentivized their customers in under- standing (and reducing) their consumption with new tariff sys-
CONCLUSION
Policy insights to support DH systems development Getting started requires two main conditions: having adequate regulation at the national level to provide a common framework of decision-making practices and considering the local parameters of the sites in which the transitions are materializing. Energy systems are deeply influenced by how practition- ers create, operate, and maintain them. These systems are bounded by how energy practitioners, city planners, engi- neers, system managers, and politicians operate and work with the infrastructures at hand. Deep transformations,
such as getting rid of natural gas will require new ways of working together. Urban and heat planning must be performed together to ensure space for decentral heating productions. National policy must help redirect invest- ments from gas and other fossil fuel sources to renewable production. Communication with end-users must be im- proved, and heat planning must continue to be a public responsibility for the security of supply and sovereignty. In other terms, energy transitions demand a new paradigm of working together.
By Joao Ricardo Elias, Project Manager, Ramboll
The components incorporated in a DHC-system represent a substantial share of the system’s Capital Expenditures (CapEx) and Operating Expenses (OpEx). Hence the choices made by the Owner regarding these components are a decisive factor in the competitiveness of the system. Components are also determinants for the entire system’s lev- els of security of supply, energy efficiency (EE), greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and health, safety, and environment (HSE).
The choices of components must therefore take all these fac- tors into account.
Maëlle Caussarieu
System perspective To optimize the DHC-system the specification of each compo- nent must take into consideration the component’s contribu- tion to the performance of the system. It is crucial to prioritize the system’s optimization in relation to the optimization of the component itself. This is because the system’s performance re- sults from the combined performance of its elements, and the different parts contribute differently to the various indicators of the system’s performance. The aspects of the component’s performance that contribute crucially to the system’s performance are therefore those that must be optimized. These aspects must thus be identified to focus on them when setting the requirements for the specific component. To do so, it is necessary to determine how and when the component both must, as a requirement, and can, during an incident, interact with other elements of the specif- ic system. This requires knowledge of the system’s overall ob- jectives and an understanding of how the system’s structure supports the fulfilment of these objectives under the identified system’s constraints. It is only through careful engineering of
What makes this subject exciting to you? I knew nothing about DH when I started my research. It is not a well-developed technology in France, where I come from. But while talking with the actors, understanding their reasonings, and witnessing how they are trying to make a difference with this degree of commitment, I became very enthusiastic about this infrastructure. DH may not sound very appealing, but it is and will become a hot topic in the coming years; I do not doubt that.. What will your findings do for DH? Time will tell! I am now working as an energy planner at the municipality of Copenhagen and hope that I will contribute to the development of the regional DH infrastructure. The challenges ahead of us are great, and the uncertainties are aplenty. I am very curious about what the system will look like in 10, 15, and 30 years. And if I see the establishment of a few heat pumps within Copenhagen in the coming years, I could consider having somehow contributed to the field!.
For further information please contact: Maëlle Caussarieu, caussarieu@kk.dk
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THE OWNER’S ENGINEER ROLE IN SECURING THE RIGHT COMPONENTS
The choice of the component may be supported by market research based on a detailed specification. It is important the Owner makes an informed choice of the component to avoid a disproportional focus on CapEx while overseeing other factors that contribute to the total cost of ownership or other aspects that are crucial to the system’s performance. Another potential danger is the Owner’s loss of focus induced by the suppliers’ focus on highlighting unique selling points, which are valid but do not necessarily meet the Owner’s specific needs. These dan- gers can be considerably mitigated by a pre-defining detailed specification for the component during the earlier mentioned top-down specification process as part of the engineering of the DHC-system. Design-Build is relatively common in Denmark for contracts, where the scope is an easily definable sub-system, e.g., a heat/ cooling production unit like a boiler system or a heat pump/ chiller system. Per definition, the Contractor has design re- sponsibilities under this type of contract. The Contractor’s de- sign must com-ply with the Owner’s specification—this spec- ification results from the concept design developed for the sub-system by the Owner’s Engineer. On the one side, the specification must be sufficiently detailed within the iden- tified focus areas to enable the envisaged integration of the specific sub-system in the DHC-system hence supporting the optimisation of the entire system’s performance adequately. On the other side, the level of detail in the specification must not unnecessarily limit the Contractor’s design. Otherwise, the expected benefits from transferring some of the design pro- cesses to the Contractor may be lost. The interactions between the sub-system and other elements of the DHC-system, which have been identified during the concept design, may also lead to the sub-system’s specifi- cation, including specific details on some of the sub-system components, e.g., instruments. Typically, the Owner’s Engineer both produces these specifications and supports the owner in reviewing the solutions proposed by the Contractor concern- ing the specified requirements. Both must ensure that the Owner’s interests prevail in a project delivery method where the Owner does not entirely control the design or the installed equipment. A potential risk in a Design-Build contract is that the specifica- tion is not detailed enough in setting the requirements, there- by allowing for a component that may be cheap to buy but expensive to operate and maintain. Subsequently, the overall cost of the system will be higher than it ought to be.
the overall DHC-system that the full potential of the DHC-sys- tem can be established.
Therefore, the specification of each component should be built upon a top-down process, starting with the specification of the system, and moving down to sub-systems until the compo- nent level has been reached. Procurement of components at different project delivery methods Various project delivery methods are being employed for the development of DHC-systems, the main being Design-Bid- Build (DBB), Design-Build (DB), and Design-Build-Operate (DBO). The choice of delivery method depends on several factors like the project’s risk profile, the technology used, and market traditions. The procurement of the system’s components must reflect the delivery method employed in the project. Therefore, the lev- el of detail of the component’s specification must be adjust- ed accordingly without compromising the earlier mentioned focus on the aspects of the component’s performance that con-tribute crucially to the system’s performance. Traditionally in Denmark, the preferred delivery method for DHC-projects is Design-Bid-Build. The project’s owner is re-sponsible for the design and is supported by the Owner’s Engineer, typically an engineering consultant, who develops the actual design. Based on the fully developed design, the works and materials are sent for bidding, and the Contractor behind the winning bid is responsible for executing the design. In such projects, there are typically two options regarding the procurement of components, and often both options are used under the same project. One option is that the Contractor purchases the components, which the Contractor installs, and ownership of the compo- nents is transferred from the Contractor to the project’s owner. The other option is that the Owner purchases the components and transfers these to the Contractor for installation. The latter option is known as Owner Direct Purchase (ODP). Common to both options is that the Owner has complete con- trol of which components are purchased to the level that the Owner decides both on manufacturer and type. This allows the Owner to choose the equipment that best fits the Owner’s existing assets and asset management structure. These con- siderations should be balanced with the earlier mentioned considerations on choosing components whose performance contributes crucially to the system’s performance.
Many of the considerations described for the projects under the Design-Build delivery method also apply here. The differ- ence between these two project delivery models is that the Contractor will operate the DHC-system for a defined period (years), after which the Owner takes over the DHC-system. In this case, the specification and the review of the solutions proposed by the Contractor concerning the specified require- ments must support the contractual terms in securing the sys- tem’s business case when the contract is due. A potential risk is that the Contractor makes components choices to optimize the Contractor’s return without consider- ing the total cost of ownership after the contract has ended or other performance factors that the Owner has focused on..
Conclusion A carefully planned and conducted component pro- curement process is essential for the success of any DHC-system. The Owner’s Engineer has a vital role in supporting the owner in this process.
For further information please contact: Joao Ricardo Elias, jme@ramboll.com
Design-Build-Operate is less used in Denmark, but there are other countries where it is a relatively standard procedure.
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Denmark is ranked among the top countries in the world according to the World Energy Council (WEC) energy trilemma criteria: energy security, energy equity, and sustainability. The small Scandinavian country is known for its wind power technologies and large-scale integration of wind power into the grid. Compared to wind power, combined heat and power (CHP) plants, district heating (DH) technologies, and the underground network of pipes throughout the country has lived a relatively quiet life. However, these collective heat infrastructure networks and CHPs are fundamental for the energy efficiency of the Danish energy system and the top WEC ranking in the country. COMBINED HEAT & POWER – heat infrastructure planning in Denmark
100 years ago, daily waste was collected and trans- ported by horse carriages to the city dump.
By Katinka Johansen, Ph.D., Energy Transitions and Social Psychology, Danish Technological Institute, DTU
The First CHP Plants In the 1880s, Hamburg solved a growing waste management problem by constructing a waste incineration plant that gen- erated heat for heating purposes. The city of Hamburg had suffered a cholera outbreak in 1882. Adjacent towns prohibited the import of waste from the city to protect themselves from this epidemic. As a result, citizens of Hamburg turned to burn household waste in the streets. In neighboring Denmark, household waste management also became a challenge as populations increased due to industrialization and urbanization. In Frederiksberg, adja- cent to Copenhagen, the emergent industrial sector attract- ed workers from afar. Waste piled up on street corners and in the small open spaces, and the 75,000 inhabitants knew
World War II — again — led to an energy crisis. At some CHP plants, heat-only boilers were constructed as heat supply back- up. After the war, the existing district heating networks were expanded to integrate this additional heat production capaci- ty. Coal was still the prioritized fuel.
the health risks associated with these mountains of waste. In Copenhagen municipality, the population was also grow- ing, and therefore land for landfills was expensive. Moreover, landfills close to cities were also associated with the risk of epidemics. Inspired by the example from Hamburg, Frederiksberg Munic- ipality set out to solve this problem and constructed the first primitive waste incineration plant in Denmark. Inaugurated in 1903, this waste incineration plant produced heat and electric- ity. Horse-drawn carriages transported the household waste to the waste incineration plant. Throughout the country, this first primitive CHP plant proved inspirational. Fuel import dependency and experiences of en- ergy resource scarcity during World War I called for energy effi-
ciency initiatives and motivated the integration of CHP plants into the energy system. Power plants throughout Denmark were due for renovation in the 1920s, and many municipalities converted their power plants to CHP plants that provided heat for dwellings or institutions close by.
District Heating: Energy Efficiency, Energy Flexibility, and Fuel Diversification The fundamental idea of district heating is to harvest otherwise wasted heat from power production in CHP plants and other industries. District heating systems enable the integration of various energy sources into the energy system. For example, renewables such as wind, solar, and biomass supply energy and relatively low-quality fuels such as household waste. District heating systems enable short-term (daily) and long-term (seasonal) thermal energy storage. The technical solutions, combinations, and fuel usage in individual district heating systems can be adapted to specific local contexts and the locally available fuel resources. These characteristics may improve energy systems efficiency overall and facilitate the energy flexibility necessary to integrate more intermittent renewable energy resources into the energy system.
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The Global Energy Crisis and National-Scale Collective Heat Infrastructure Planning Policymakers and the Danish public warmly welcomed the newly discovered oil and gas reserves within the national sea territories. The Danish government now set out to create a long-term strategy for ensuring the stability of energy supplies well into the future. These strategies were outlined in the Dan- ish Energy Plan 1976, with the key policy priorities captured by
The 1950s and 1960s: The Welfare State and Population Growth Growing populations and urbanization led to the growth of the suburbs. Many of these new suburbs were planned with district heating from the outset—municipalities, and some- times jointly, invested in large, centralized CHP plants. For the end-users, district heating provided affordable, accessible, and convenient heat supplies that required little service and main- tenance.
the headlines: energy independence, fuel diversification, and energy efficiency. Energy infrastructure planning initiatives laid out in this plan focused on using waste heat from industry, in- tegrating CHP, and the harvest of locally available renewable energy resources.
In the 1960s, preliminary explorations for oil and gas had taken place in the Danish part of the North Sea, and the private entre- preneur A.P. Møller-Maersk was awarded the concessional rights to these fossil-fuel reserves. Oil was first extracted from the oil platform Danfield in 1972. That same year, the commercial trans- mission company for natural gas (DONG, now known as Ørsted) was established with the Danish state as the only shareholder.
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The transmission network in Greater Copenhagen
1979: First Heat Supply Act The first Heat Supply Act, adopted in 1979, provided the legal framework for the heat planning initiatives ahead. National-scale collective heat- and energy infrastructure planning ensued. As a part of this en- ergy planning, a process referred to as “zoning” stra- tegically identified and mapped out nonoverlapping heat supply areas (or zones) for natural gas and dis- trict heating. In this way, zoning prevented internal competition between these two heat supply sourc- es. The zoning processes aimed to ensure a healthy economy throughout the heat supply infrastructure system and that the overall objectives of the Heat Supply Act were met.
The 1980s: The Scramble for Oil and Gas In 1980, American experts estimated that oil and gas from the Danish North Sea could provide Denmark with energy independence for up to 20 years. Natu- ral gas production began in 1984, and the Danish North Sea oil and gas gener- ated revenue for the first time in 1988. In the following decades, the state-owned transmission system for gas from the privately-owned North Sea oil fields was gradually incorporated into the national heat-supply infrastructures.
The 1990s: Energy Inde- pendence and Growing Environmental Aware- ness The Danish energy plan from 1990 (the Energy 2000 Action Plan) was widely considered the first global strategy for greenhouse gas reductions. This Danish en- ergy plan set the scene for the low-carbon energy tran- sitions and sustainable de- velopment initiatives ahead.
The 2000s: Biomass and Wind Power Integration in the Grid Environmental awareness and concern grew in the following decades. Sustain- ability-related issues were the order of the day. The turn of the century marked an era of biomass- and wind power in- tegration into the Danish energy sys- tem. As the ratio of biomass integrated into the Danish heat supply infrastruc- tures increased, some have forwarded questions about the sustainability of this biomass.
In 1990, the second revision of the Heat Supply Act integrated the objectives of the Energy 2000 Action Plan. The revised Heat Supply Act sought to increase the number of CHP plants in the national heat supply infrastructures and to support the econ- omy of the national natural gas project. Heat infrastructure planning was decentralized. Local councils were now the rel- evant heat planning authorities, and future heat infrastructure planning initiatives would take place on a project-to-project approach. Future heat supply infrastructure planning activities ensured the logical continuation of the previous zoning prac- tices. The use of natural gas and biomass was encouraged. Bare Field Plants District heating networks were extended throughout the coun- try with the popularly labeled “bare field” (or greenfield) plants. Typically, the bare field plants were natural-gas fueled decen- tralized CHP plants serving smaller towns or villages. Heat dis- tribution networks were established simultaneously as the heat production plants at these decentralized CHP plants, and the heat was generated via a natural gas-powered motor. In this way, the natural gas companies had none of the risks associat- ed with a natural gas heat distribution network. The price of natural gas increased unexpectedly, however, and the economy of the decentralized CHP plants suffered. For the end-users, this meant increasing heating bills. Technologies allowing for biomass and biogas in the energy system matured rapidly during these years. The biomass agree- ment was adopted and, with this agreement, also ambitious plans for biomass integration into the energy system by the year 2000. In May 1998, Denmark was energy self-sufficient.
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The Nonprofit Principle for Heat Pricing and the Obligation to Connect The “obligation to connect” to collective heat supply infrastructures was adopted in 1982. The “obligation to connect” allowed municipalities to enforce the connection of municipal build- ing stock to the collectively planned local heat infrastructures. This ensured a stable group of end-users / heat consumers and thus a stable economy for the heat suppliers. Citizens subject to the obligation to connect were obliged to pay the annual subscription fees to the heat supply infrastructures but not to use that heat source. Not all municipalities enforced the commitment to connect, and some only enforced it partially. The underground district heating infrastructures were typically financed via favorable long-term loans (e.g., 20–50 years) afforded by the Municipal Credit Bank. The final price of heat was de- termined by the nonprofit principle / the principle of necessary costs. According to this pricing principle, the final price of heat-service provision for the end-user comprises the total and nec- essary heat costs. This includes heat generation-, transmission-, and distribution, as well as heat infrastructure investments-, management-, and service.
Change Readiness? Reflections from the Past and Looking into the Future In the future, large-scale industrial heat pumps and various short-term- and longer-term thermal storage solutions will facilitate the sector coupling processes necessary to integrate even more intermittent renewables into the Danish grid. In Denmark, visionary politicians and public members have pushed for environmental awareness in Danish energy plan- ning and policy from early on. Denmark’s story as a frontrun- ner in the global race toward low-carbon energy transition processes is a popular and widespread narrative. The top WEC ranking of the Danish energy system emphasizes the extent to which it does meet the energy trilemma criteria: energy secu- rity, energy equity, and sustainability.
By the 1990s, the economy of the natural gas project was not doing well.
For further information please contact: Katinka Johansen, katinka.johansen@soc.lu.se
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